Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
VT rank 1,143!!
virtualtourist.com is a great travel website i use, and take part in, to give and receive travel advice from other travelers. along with tripadvisor, it is the top travel site around the world for gaining knowledge on tips involving things to do, transportation, accommodation, warnings, local customs, etc.
millions of people all over the world use this site as a "go-to" for travel information. hopefully someday, my illustrated book will be a beacon for all who want to travel to brazil, live in brazil, and know all things about travel.
millions of people all over the world use this site as a "go-to" for travel information. hopefully someday, my illustrated book will be a beacon for all who want to travel to brazil, live in brazil, and know all things about travel.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thoughts on Brazill
it's hard to survive in brazil, unless you get a job with an american company i suppose. the wages are low. it's so strange how you can just jump from place to place without signing a lease. at least, that's the way it was in rosa.
rosa is a strange and magical place. most of the people who live there have been there all their lives. but there are some transient people like me, and people from curitiba and porto alegre. it's a small town, maybe pop. 2000. then they have the surf season (wct) and it gets packed. so it's quiet most of the year and crazy during the new year.
i did meet some good people but i never felt i could trust them. they were always talking behind each others' backs. everything you did, everyone knew about. they would cheat with their friends' husbands and get in fights. it's just weird to imagine that friends treat each other so poorly. they're open armed, don't get me wrong. there just seems to be a "live for the now, no matter if it's wrong or right" mentality, from what i experienced.
but it was a beautiful experience and i WOULD move back to brazil at some point, if i had a job figured out. i didn't teach english. there was no place to do it in that small town (i had some leads) but brazilians seem to be fickle. she just kept postponing it and postponing it. that was my experience with most people. they are lazy. they say they will do something, and in the states, it gets done at least the next day. in brazil, it takes months. from burning cd's to fixing roads to building houses... and they wonder why they are poor. they don't want to work !!
that was my experience there. but good food, fresh food. and they seem to utilize what they have. they conserve and they are resourceful. i think this attitude should be the same in the states. i mean, they use a bottle of cachaca to roll out pizza dough. they use empty yogurt containers as tupperware, and the list goes on. i really liked and respected that about them.
the people i knew mostly sat around and got high and then went to the beach. that was my life for 7 months. i don't get high, but i would just drink and hang out. they watch favelas (very important) but when work seasons come around, they do work. i have to give them credit for that.
it seems that they never have money, or so they say. i began to feel resentful because we would go to get groceries, and they would say "i only have this much money" then someone would chime in "regina tem". i was like fuck, what am i? the money tree? i'm on a budget with no work and because i'm american, you're asking ME to pay?? fuck that. they NEVER HAVE MONEY. because they don't work. it kind of sums up why they steal from each other, or at least foreigners. we're bate. i was bate.
i hate to reminisce about the bad parts. there were really sweet moments as well. i met some great friends with whom i still keep in contact, people who will welcome be back with open arms and warm food. i loved learning the language, laughing with people and being able to have the experience of doing absolutely nothing while my american friends are all working 9-5's. it was refreshing. my parents never liked the idea because they believe in productivity. i believe in balance, and i have worked a lot in my life. i prefer to work, then play as a reward. so that's what i did!
overall, i can say i would do it again. but i would do it differently. i would get a job, something permanent in rio, maybe working at the copacabana palace as a hair stylist or something. i would have to do more research. i think with more time, i can finish my book on living in brazil.
rosa is a strange and magical place. most of the people who live there have been there all their lives. but there are some transient people like me, and people from curitiba and porto alegre. it's a small town, maybe pop. 2000. then they have the surf season (wct) and it gets packed. so it's quiet most of the year and crazy during the new year.
i did meet some good people but i never felt i could trust them. they were always talking behind each others' backs. everything you did, everyone knew about. they would cheat with their friends' husbands and get in fights. it's just weird to imagine that friends treat each other so poorly. they're open armed, don't get me wrong. there just seems to be a "live for the now, no matter if it's wrong or right" mentality, from what i experienced.
but it was a beautiful experience and i WOULD move back to brazil at some point, if i had a job figured out. i didn't teach english. there was no place to do it in that small town (i had some leads) but brazilians seem to be fickle. she just kept postponing it and postponing it. that was my experience with most people. they are lazy. they say they will do something, and in the states, it gets done at least the next day. in brazil, it takes months. from burning cd's to fixing roads to building houses... and they wonder why they are poor. they don't want to work !!
that was my experience there. but good food, fresh food. and they seem to utilize what they have. they conserve and they are resourceful. i think this attitude should be the same in the states. i mean, they use a bottle of cachaca to roll out pizza dough. they use empty yogurt containers as tupperware, and the list goes on. i really liked and respected that about them.
the people i knew mostly sat around and got high and then went to the beach. that was my life for 7 months. i don't get high, but i would just drink and hang out. they watch favelas (very important) but when work seasons come around, they do work. i have to give them credit for that.
it seems that they never have money, or so they say. i began to feel resentful because we would go to get groceries, and they would say "i only have this much money" then someone would chime in "regina tem". i was like fuck, what am i? the money tree? i'm on a budget with no work and because i'm american, you're asking ME to pay?? fuck that. they NEVER HAVE MONEY. because they don't work. it kind of sums up why they steal from each other, or at least foreigners. we're bate. i was bate.
i hate to reminisce about the bad parts. there were really sweet moments as well. i met some great friends with whom i still keep in contact, people who will welcome be back with open arms and warm food. i loved learning the language, laughing with people and being able to have the experience of doing absolutely nothing while my american friends are all working 9-5's. it was refreshing. my parents never liked the idea because they believe in productivity. i believe in balance, and i have worked a lot in my life. i prefer to work, then play as a reward. so that's what i did!
overall, i can say i would do it again. but i would do it differently. i would get a job, something permanent in rio, maybe working at the copacabana palace as a hair stylist or something. i would have to do more research. i think with more time, i can finish my book on living in brazil.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
